"Shark Dive--Bahams' by Dan Theurer via Flickr Creative Commons

Europe offers some of the best adventure activities in the world from the lunacy of cheese rolling in England to the underwater thrills of shark diving in Scotland and snowmobiling in Greenland. Or you could go canyoning in Turkey or caving in Iceland.

  1. Cheese rolling, England This sport is all about lunacy and danger. A cheese is flung down a hill at this annual event in Gloucestershire and competitors chase it. It might not sound that daunting until you consider the steepness of the slope, the dips, bulges and perils that claim a few ankles, bones and soft tissues amongst competitors and spectators every year. Of course, the winner gets to keep the cheese.
  2. Kite skiing, Chamonix Chamonix in northern France is famous for all sorts of Alpine sports including kite skiing which is particularly good on a huge flat area of glacial ice called Col du Midi. Thanks to frequent windy weather it’s a perfect spot for kite skiing and there’s always snow this high up (11,483 feet).
  3. Caving, Iceland Explore Iceland’s spectacular lava tube caves and craters by crawling through narrow spaces. There are stalactites to see, an extraordinary array of colors and unusual formations.
  4. Snowmobiling, Greenland Rug up warm to cross the ice cap in Greenland over land, glaciers and snow. You’ll need skis for the final assault to the ice cap.
  5. Mountain biking, Morzine, France Explore this fabulous playground for cross country mountain biking and world class down hill trails. If you’re not so confident or don’t know the area there are plenty of qualified instructors to show you the way.
  6. Shark Diving, Fife, Scotland If swimming in shark infested waters is your idea of the ultimate this is for you. Swim with beautiful sand tiger, angel and tope sharks in a 1.2 million gallon underwater aquarium, home to one of Europe’s largest collections of sharks as well as 2000 other fish including rays and crabs.
  7. Igloo adventures, Sweden Get a taste of Eskimo living and build your own igloo so you can stay in the middle of nowhere. Experienced guides will show you how to do it so you have a warm, comfortable night.
  8. Canyoning, Turkey The Toparlar Canyon is the perfect extreme location for the whole family. Waterslide into turquoise pools, jump little waterfalls, abseil and swim in the fresh pools. Perfect on a hot day.
  9. Sphereing, England This is one of the crazy Brits latest challenges and also known as zorbing and orbing. Put yourself inside an inflatable PVC ball and get rolled over the top of a hill and over the edge. The flight down hill can reach up to 38 miles/hr. It’s also possible to do it in tandem and with a few buckets of water.
  10. Coasteering, Anglesea, Wales Coasteering is all about climbing, scrambling, swimming and jumping to explore areas inaccessible except by boat. The stunning coastline of Anglesey and North Wales is a good location.

Click here for Top 10 Extreme Sports Vacations in North America